Intention has become a popular phrase in spiritual circles, but it is far more than a New Age buzzword. At its heart, intention is a conscious choice — one that rises from your inner desires and aligns with your deepest values and beliefs.
Unlike goals, which often sound like items on a to-do list (“lose 10 pounds,” “get a raise”), intentions are quieter and more powerful. Goals focus on achievement. Intentions focus on alignment.
Think of it like adjusting the focus on an old-style camera. The scene hasn’t changed — but suddenly, everything becomes clearer.
Intention vs. Goals: What’s the Difference?
Goals ask: What do I want to accomplish?
Intentions ask: Who am I becoming as I move through my life?
When you set an intention, you’re not chasing an outcome. You’re choosing how you want to show up — emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Intentions honor what feels authentic and real, rather than what looks impressive on paper.
That distinction matters, especially during seasons of reflection, recalibration, or inner growth.
Edgar Cayce and the Power of Ideals
Long before the word “intention” became popular, Edgar Cayce spoke of Ideals.
In The Search for God, Cayce described an Ideal as your highest spiritual, mental, and material aim — a guiding star for your life. An Ideal is not about getting more, but about becoming more.
Cayce taught that when you consciously choose ideals rooted in love, service, truth, and compassion, you align your daily actions with your soul’s deeper purpose. Your ideal becomes the why behind everything you do.
An Ideal:
- Serves as a guiding standard for spirit, mind, and body
- Is consciously chosen and revisited regularly
- It is rooted in service and contribution, not just personal gain.
- Aligns thoughts, attitudes, and actions into one coherent path
In this way, intentions and ideals speak the same language — one of meaning, purpose, and inner alignment.
A Season for Recalibration
There are times in life when forward motion slows — and that slowing is not a failure. It is an invitation.
This is a time to question fundamental beliefs about success, worth, and direction. A time to shed people-pleasing habits and reclaim personal power by choosing yourself first. A time to revisit old patterns around home, finances, relationships, and self-worth.
As teacher Barbra White Crow reminds us, spiritual growth requires the pause. Nature itself slows growth for a reason. All transformation needs space to integrate.
This pause is not a delay — it is preparation.
Cultivating the Inner Fields
True abundance begins inside. Before outer success can feel fulfilling, the inner world must be nourished.
This is a powerful moment to:
- Reflect on how your goals align with your core values
- Redefine what success and abundance truly mean to you.
- Heal and reassess old patterns that no longer serve
- Cultivate your inner landscape with care and compassion
When intentions guide your path, ambition becomes aligned instead of exhausting.
How to Work with Intention and Ideals
You might begin gently, with curiosity rather than pressure:
- Define your core values and highest aims — spiritually, mentally, and materially.
- Write them down and revisit them often.
- Meditate or reflect on your intention as a guiding light.
- Apply it to everyday choices, letting it inform how you respond and act.
- Forgive yourself and others — to clear the way for growth.
In doing so, you become an active participant in shaping a life that feels meaningful, grounded, and true.
An Invitation
Rather than asking, What should I accomplish next? Consider asking:
What intention do I want to guide my life right now?
When intentions — or ideals — lead the way, success becomes less about striving and more about alignment. And in that alignment, clarity, peace, and authentic growth naturally follow.
